SAN DIEGO’S ECOATM RAISES $17M IN FUNDING

San Diego’s ecoATM, a maker of cellphone recycling kiosks, said it has raised $17 million in a second round of venture capital funding.

The company will use the money to roll out its automated cellphone- and MP3 player-recycling kiosks nationwide, said Chief Executive Tom Tullie.

The 35-employee company has been testing about 50 kiosks in malls and grocery stores in California, including about a dozen locations in San Diego.

It has passed those tests, said Tullie. It expects to add “hundreds” of kiosks in the coming 12 months and boost that number to several thousand locations by 2014.

“The new funding will enable mass commercialization and a national rollout,” he said. ““It is exciting to take the next step of expanding ecoATM’s footprint to the rest of the U.S.”

The company’s current automated system provides cash back at the kiosk. About 75 percent of the phones ecoATM collects are sold to firms that reuse them in developing countries. About 25 percent are sold to recyclers for parts.

EcoATM pays a minimum of $1 per device, no matter how old. It pays more — an average of $12 to $15 — for modern, advanced phones.

The new funding came from current investors Claremont Creek Ventures, Coinstar and TAO Ventures. In addition, new investors PI Holdings, Moore Venture Partners, AKS Capital and Singapore billionaire Koh Boon Hwee participated. Since it was founded 2008, the company has raised $31.4 million in venture funding.

Also, ecoATM said Tuesday it won a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to advance its technology.

Tullie said the company is still working on its distribution agreements but tends to put the kiosks in shopping malls, grocery stores and other locations where there’s heavy foot traffic. A list of San Diego County locations with ecoATM’s kiosks can be found at its website,
ecoatm.com.